Migrant Letters as Data: The Integration of German Immigrants in the US

• In Event: Immigrant Integration

Abstract

This paper combines a novel data source, a mixed methods approach rooted in computerized text analysis, and a cross-temporal perspective on migrant integration and transnationalism. It utilizes a large collection of migrant letters as individual level panel data to study the integration of ‘ordinary’ German migrants in the US over 150 years between 1820 and 1970. The database at the heart of our analysis consists of over 8,000 letters sent by around 700 individuals, with exchanges clustered around different time periods. Through a multi-stage process we made these letters machine readable and enriched them with metadata. The letters are a unique source that provides insight into the transnational communication networks between the migrants and their homelands and the nature of the social and political remittances migrants sent via these letters. This micro-data allows for a systematic analysis of the migrants’ perceptions of different aspects of integration over time, as shaped by the economic and political situation in the host county and the ‘homeland’, migration policies and international events. Building on existing social science analysis on migrant transnationalism, remittances, and integration as well as historical analysis of US immigration, this source allows us to systematically track the image of the US that Germans sent back to their country of origin. We analyze this large collection of letters by using corpus linguistics and treat the longitudinal data as panel data. Our paper aims to contribute to contemporary scholarly and policy debates about integration through its focus on within-group variation of migrant experiences and the variation of experiences over time.

Authors

• Gwendolyn Sasse, University of Oxford

• Félix Krawatzek, University of Oxford